as in shocks
informal
something that shows or teaches you something in a surprising way
Traveling abroad can be a real eye-opener to many people. They say her biography is quite an eye-opener.
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Recent Examples of eye-openers
The closeness in my race and the closeness in the president's race last year were real eye-openers.
—
ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025
Beringer noted the speed and physicality of Minnesota’s preseason games have been eye-openers.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 14 Oct. 2025
But under the hood, there are some other eye-openers.
—Tony Blengino, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025
Beringer noted the speed and physicality of Minnesota’s preseason games have been eye-openers.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 14 Oct. 2025
But under the hood, there are some other eye-openers.
—Tony Blengino, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for eye-openers
Noun
-
That said, the government has a decades-old playbook on how to get workers through economic shocks.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
That is, a country’s economy was much more likely to be impacted by shocks to nearby countries than by shocks in faraway countries.—
Josh Ederington,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But growth stalled, due both to the pandemic and damaging revelations about Glossier’s corporate culture during the racial justice movement following the murder of George Floyd.—
Jenny B. Fine,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Along with these revelations, Netflix also released a few first look images from Season 3.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
First glimpsed in some of JWST’s earliest images, LRDs remain one of the telescope’s biggest surprises—ruby-red objects that shine like a star but may reach up to 500 light-years in size.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
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Vuitton is plotting a full-court press throughout 2026 around the motif’s origins, with special-edition anniversary collections backed by dedicated campaigns, pop-ups and other animations and surprises.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Simons also gave Boston timely jolts of off-the-bench scoring.—
Zack Cox,
Hartford Courant,
3 Feb. 2026
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Elsewhere, jolts of intensity come from human hands turning round knobs in real time.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Eye-openers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eye-openers. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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